Cushion shoe lift



Aug. 1s, 1925. 1550 2416 T. J. MCGRATH 7 CUSHION SHOE LIFT FiledrOGt. l0, 1922 3 ff 5 97\/\ (ff/ Q I' f .55511. f Z f/ 7- M atto: um@

` to slip on wet pavements or the like.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES THOMAS J. MCGRATH, F CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CUSHION SHOE LIFT.

Application filed October 10, 1922.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Ti-roMAs J. MGGRATH, citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicopee, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cushion Shoe Lifts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cushion shoe lifts, formed of rubber or the like, and has for its main object a provision of a shoe lift of a form best adapted to fit the heel of the shoe tightly especially about its edge and breast.

A still further object is a provision of a cushion shoe lift, the form of which when in position upon the heel of a shoe will be such that the upper surface thereof will tend to so shape the lower surface thereof in a manner which will prevent slipping of said lift when in use, and the user thereof preventedfrom falling.

It is a well known fact that the ordinary concave-convex shoe lift presents a substantial raised port-ion at the center of the lower surface thereof, which portion is a disadvantage to a wearer because of the tendeiy y the construction disclosed in the present invention this disadvantage is eliminated.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of cushion elements in the upper surface of the lift.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the tread or lower portion of the lift,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the upper surface of the lift,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a section on the line Ll-/l, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the lift applied to the heel of the shoe.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the body of the lift, the same being curved in both longitudinal and transverse cross section, the breast 2 of the lift being curved as is customary.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and t, the upper and lower surfaces of the body 1 are, in general contour, concave and convex Serial No. 593,552.

in both longitudinal and transverse cross sections, as shown by numerals 3 and l, the edges 5 and 6 lying substantially in a straight horizontal plane.

The upper surface 3 of the lift is provided with a depressed area 7, the bottom 8 of which lies in a horizontal plane substantially parallel with the edge 5. The contour of this depressed area 7 is substantially similar to the contour of the lift itself, and the side 9 thereof is undercut with relation to the surface 3.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the depressed area or suction recess 7 is positioned near the breast of the lift, and, in fact, the dis-y tance between the edge 10 of the breast and a forward edge of the depressed area is about one half as great as the distance between the rear of the lift and the rear edge of the depressed area, and this particular positioning of the depressed area, when taken in conjunction with the other features of the invention, T regard as an essential feature of the present invention.

A plurality o-f cups 11 which serve both as cushioning and suction elements are positioned within the depressed area 7, in substantially triangular arrangement the upper edges thereof being slightly above the horizontal plane of the edge 12 of the depressed area.

That portion of surface 3 surrounding the depressed 'area 7 is dished slightly as indicated at 7', the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

The lower surface of the lift, as before mentioned, is convex and is provided with a flattened portion 13 approximately in the center thereof, in which are secured and preferably formed integral therewith, a plurality of suction cups 13 which surround apertures lll and which are in alignment with-small washers 15; nails 16 being driven through said washers in securing the lift to a shoe heel.

A boss 17 extends entirely around the lower surface being positioned in the concave part thereof. This boss is of slightly greater height than the longitudinal plane of the edge 6 of the lower surface. By that I mean that the boss 17 is of such dimensions that the edge thereof will extend above the horizontal plane across the edge 6 of the lower concave surface.

It will be obvious from the drawings and the above description that when the lift is applied to a shoe heel 18 it will be pressed thereagainst until the dished portion of surface 3 bears directly against the heel 13, the recess 7 and cups 11 serving to create a partial vacuum or suction-to assist in retaining the lift in position, the cups 11 further serving as cushioning elements. It can also be seen that as the nails 16 are driven through the washers 15 into the shoe heel the outer portion of the heel will assume the position shown in Fig. 5, and the center portion of the lift will be forced upwardly against the shoe heel, the edge 1Q around the depressed area 7 being forced outwardly until the side 9 is substantially vertical, this latter movement tensioning` the central portion of the lift, and forcing` out and down the material around the sides of the lift. This forcing out of the material around the edge of the lift produces a greater depth of material around the outer edge of the lift where it is needed the most. Vllhe washers 15 aided by the particular positioning thereof serve to retain the lift in its fixed position upon the heel.

Vhen in use the Weight of a wearer' will naturally compress the lift to some extent, and when so doing the boss 17 will be compressed until the edge 6 of the lift reaches the ground, and when this is effected it 1s obvious that an additional vacuum will be obtained in addition to that created by the suction cups 13', because of the spaces 1S and 19, the former between the edge 6 and the boss 17 and the latter the entire space embraced within the boss 17 itself on said surface d. The boss 17, might, if desired, be a small metal strip which could serve an antislipping device, but I have found that it is perfectly practical to form the boss of rubber and obtain substantially the same effect.

Particular attention is called to the manner of positioning the depressed area 7 and the flattened portion 13. lhen a wearer of the lift is walking, as the rear portion of the lift receives the weight of the wearer the remainder of the lift is subjected t0 a strain which tends to loosen thelift from the` shoe heel. By the particular arrangement of the fiattened portion this disadvantage is eliminated due to the fact that by positioning the depressed area near the breast of the lift the strain at the breast of the lift is counteracted by the added suction exerted by the depressed area at the point most desired.

It can also be seen that due to the depressed area 7 and the flattened portion 1in', when the lift is applied to a shoe heel the projection usual in concave-convex heels of the ordinary type is dispensed with.

Having described my invention, what 'I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. fr cushion shoe lift comprising a longitudinally curved body having a depressed portion in the upper surface thereof, and a fiattened portion on the lower surface thereof, said depressed portion overlapping said flattened portion.

2. A. cushion shoe lift comprising a lon gitudinally curved body having a depressed. portion in the upper surface thereof and a flattened portionin the lower surface thereof, said depressed portion overlapping said flattened portion in the direction of the breast of the lift.

3. A cushion shoe lift comprising a lougitudinally curved body having its upper` surface concaved in both longitudinal and transverse cross section and its lower surface conrex in longitudinal and transverse cross section, the upper surface being provided with a depressed area positioned eccentrically on said upper surface, a plurality of suction cups formed in said depressed area, and a plurality of suction elements formed on said lower surface.

4. A cushion shoe lift comprising a lougitudinally curved body having a eoncaved upper surface and a convex lower surface, said upper surface being provided with a depressed area, a plurality of `suction cups formed in said depressed areal, a flattened portion on said lower surface, the above mentioned depressedv portion overlapping the flattened portion in the direction of the breast of the lift, and an integral boss et;- tending entirely around the lift in the couveX lower surface thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my signature.

THOMAS J. MCGRATH. 

